I am always amazed when I see Hajiya Habiba Tijjani Onumoko carrying out all the grassroots work she does, not as a politician, but as a public servant who still has seven full years left before she can even decide whether to enter politics or not.
For those who may not know her well, Hajiya Habiba is not just the every day civil servant, but one forged through heat and sweat. She is a certified accountant, a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCNA), and someone known for her uprightness and discipline in public service. She comes from a political background, but instead of clinging to name or privilege, she has chosen the harder path; serving people directly, quietly, and consistently.
Coming from a region where many new-generation politicians in the last nine years only visit home when their principals do, her consistency stands out; and it’s a threat to the careered politicians too. Unlike those who wait for political events to be seen or praised, she spends her spare time visiting the grassroots, thanking them for their support, and most importantly, listening.
She doesn’t depend on press statements or public relations to look active. She goes to the people in person, to ask what they feel the government is doing well, and more importantly, what it is not doing; even if it means hearing difficult truths.
Beautifully enough, the division between political leaders is normal. That’s the way politics works, leaders align and realign. But followers often take these divisions too far. If your leader is not on good terms with someone, you automatically become an enemy to that person, you start spreading propaganda, throwing insults. But what happens when the same leaders reconcile tomorrow?
What will you do when they shake hands, and you are left behind with your insults?
In today’s Kogi State, it’s safe to say only two public figures truly stay close to the grassroots in both word and action: Hajiya Habiba and a leader from Koton-Karfe. I admire both. When I saw her visit Ajaokuta LGA over the weekend, I smiled because I knew it would stir people whose own leaders are missing in action.
But instead of attacking her, ask yourself: who stopped your leaders from doing the same?
Some people forget; this is the daughter of a politician from a very political conscious clan too. She’s only doing what she saw the political elders of her parents’ time do: stay connected to the people. She didn’t learn this from social media or party scripts. She learned it from watching what responsible leadership looked like back then, and she’s simply keeping that spirit alive.
A friend of mine who is close to the government told me something over a year ago, and it stuck with me. He said:
“When this administration started, I laughed at politicians who were used to easy money, because I knew things were going to change. The financial leakages would be blocked, and the only way the government could function properly was to bring in someone with a tough skin; someone who could take the hits.”
At the time, I didn’t know who he meant. But today, the name rings clear: Hajiya Habiba Tijjani Onumoko, FCNA.
What a story!
It’s one thing to face resistance from political opponents, that’s expected. But it’s a different kind of pain when your own people turn against you. When the same people you are working hard to represent and engage begin to insult you, accuse you, and push false stories, not because of what you did wrong, but because they know only half-baked stories that you refuse to play dirty.
But that’s the price many people pay for choosing to be different, for choosing integrity in a place where the leadership space is often a space of self-interest and noise.
But, here is the news! Politics in Kogi State has been evolving since 2016, and that evolution is not stopping. The sooner people understand that it’s no longer politics as usual, the better for everyone.
We are no longer in an era where insulting public office holders gets you relevance or favours. If you have something to say, say it with sense and facts. Drive your points with maturity, and they will be heard. This is the new standard of political engagement.
Now, ask yourself this: is it by chance that the loudest critics and online attacks against this woman are mostly from Kogi Central, her own people?
It doesn’t feel ordinary. It seems coordinated. But before you pick up your phone to post an insult, pause and think: have you asked your leader what they really feel about her? Because the truth is, many of them were once close, and will be close again when interests align.
You may just be burning bridges they already know how to rebuild.
In the end, every generation must decide what kind of politics they want to support: the kind that destroys its own for being upright, or the kind that raises those who serve with clean hands.
Hajiya Habiba is not perfect, no one is. But she represents a different kind of leadership, one that still believes in truth, humility, and responsibility.
If we cannot protect such voices, then we have no right to complain when the wrong people lead us.
– Abdul Mohammed Lawal wrote from Lokoja.
